Star Wars: The Great Awakening (Book I)

Chapter 15 - Display of Power

"How did you find us?

Both Jolis and V4—the former of which was blindfolded—were held at both spear and blasterpoint for the duration of their trek through the woods. The tribal party they'd encountered who were now escorting them through unfamiliar terrain were from various tribes, seemingly working together.

They had been walking for some time now. Despite being blindfolded, Jolis soon discovered that he was able to perceive faint images of the lifeforms around him through the Force. The glimpses he saw were hazy, however; white auras of mist which seemed to wander about.

"We were on a hunt when we picked up your tracks in the snow," replied the one who'd introduced himself as Rajm. "From there, it was a matter of following the noise created by the thing you refer to as V4."

"I am no thing!" V4 replied loudly. "I am a highly intelligent..."

"Be silent!" commanded Rajm. "There are now many wandering ears in the forest of this world. We are not as safe as we used to be."

Rajm sighed as he looked at the landscape around him.

"I still remember when the entire planet belonged to us," continued Rajm. "There was peace. We were free to wander and live our lives as we saw fit. Now, all is lost and we cling to survival unsure if the next day will be our last. Families have been devastated, parents killed, children ripped from their mother's arms and taken to unknown locations. And now we scavenge for the remaining scraps just so we can survive another day to remember how we failed to protect our own."

Jolis could hear the sorrow in his voice. One needn't be a wielder of the Force to pickup the defeat the man walking beside him felt.

"I can hear the hopelessness in your voice," replied Jolis as they continued. "I can feel it amongst those who accompany you too."

Rajm scoffed at the comment. "You speak of such things as if you are one of the Nahassi."

Confused, Jolis inquired, "Who are the Nahassi?"

"I've only heard rumors but the Nahassi are believed to be a small tribe of mystics who dwell within the many caves near the great fortress in the Triguilden mountains. 'Priests of the old ways' are how some describe them, if they even exist anymore."

Jolis could sense the Rajm was turning to look at him.

"Are you...one of the Nahassi?"

Chuckling, Jolis replied, "No. I am who I said I was. I am Jolis of the Opachi tribe."

"It was reported that there were no survivors from the Opachi village and that the invaders hit you first and the hardest. If you are indeed one of the Opachi, you'll forgive me if I ask where you have been for the last several years."

"Living in a cave and learning the deeper mysteries of the universe," Jolis smiled.

"Do those deeper mysteries allow you to pull a language from another's mind like you did back at the village?"

"What makes you think I did something like that? Perhaps I knew the language all along."

"I don't think so," replied Rajm. "You are a mystic of some sort. How and where you got this power, that's for our leader to figure out. He's the last of the council chieftains, you know."

The mention of the chieftain caused Jolis to think about what Rajm had previously mentioned.

"Were you exaggerating when you told me all of the other tribes on Atophis have been destroyed?"

"There are numerous smaller tribes which dot the surface of our planet but we have no way of contacting them and thus, we do not know their fates," replied Rajm. "Among the council tribes, however, there are now few which remain. The majority of the chieftains were killed while gathering for a council meeting when the attack happened. This left many of the tribes leaderless which caused chaos. In the end, all but one were nearly eradicated."